Napolitano's First U. of California Initiatives

Submitted by Scott Jaschik on October 31, 2013 - 3:00am

Janet Napolitano, one month into her University of California System presidency, made her first substantive address in that role Wednesday night, in a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. She said that, in two weeks, she will be sharing some "big ideas" with the university's Board of Regents. But in a hint of her priorities, she announced several initiatives Wednesday. She proposed a $5 million increase in spending on postdoctoral fellows and a $5 million increase in spending on recruiting graduate students. "Graduate students and postdocs are the essential links between teaching for California and researching for the world. They are our future faculty members. They are our future innovators. They are our future Nobel laureates. They merit our additional support right now," she said, in the prepared version of her remarks.

Napolitano also announced that she was setting aside $5 million to help UC students who lack the legal documentation to reside in the United States. She reiterated her view (from her time as U.S. secretary of homeland security) that federal law should give such students a path toward citizenship. But she said that the university will do more to help them now. The new funds, she said, will be used "to support these students with resources like trained advisers, student service centers and financial aid. Consider this a down payment -- one more piece of evidence of our commitment to all Californians. UC will continue to be a vehicle for social mobility."